


In any universe

by loisselina (LoisSelina)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffee, Coffee Shops, College, Drinking, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Family Drama, Family Issues, Fancy Dress Party, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Hot Chocolate, Muffins, Red Riding Hood | Ruby & Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard Friendship, literally no one ask for this, more tags to be added later, reluctant table sharing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-05 16:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10312820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoisSelina/pseuds/loisselina
Summary: David and Mary meet in a coffee shop on campus when David takes Mary's usual table. Both are too stubborn to move.





	1. Muffins and phone calls

**Author's Note:**

> Want a college au written by an English person who has no experience of the American further education system? With characters majoring in subjects the writer has no idea about? Want very realistic English Literature rants whenever the Literature-Student-Writer is procrastinating an essay or dissatation? Then look no further!  
> Introducing: The Snowing college AU literally no one has asked for!
> 
> David and Mary meet in a coffee shop on campus when David takes Mary's usual table. Both are too stubborn to move. 
> 
> I wrote this in class with like 4 minutes of googling about colleges in America so please do not expect it to be accurate.  
> This is my first just Snowing fic so let me know what you think.

Mary heaved a sigh as she pushed through the surprisingly heavy glass door. There was a slight chill in the air, but not enough to warrant a coat yet, she absentmindedly noted. One of her arms was laden with heavy books and several notebooks, but with her other she pulled out her phone ready to scan to pay for her coffee at the Starbucks on campus. She had only been at the college for a month but already the barista shot her a knowing smile.

The oldest woman took a dramatic look out of the window as though it was about to tell her something that wasn't already abundantly obvious. "Let me guess, hot chocolate?"

"With cinnamon." Mary smiled back though she didn't really need to. She knew the older woman, who was known by the students so affectionately as 'Granny' that it was even on her name badge, would add it anyway. Mary mused about the oncoming assignments and papers she had to write, and knew she should probably call her stepmother back before she called her again, as she waited for her drink. She was so lost in her thoughts she hadn't heard what Granny had said to her. "Pardon?"

"I said, your table's taken."

Mary faltered and looked at Granny intently trying to make sure that she had heard right. The coffee shop was almost always dead at this time, it was just after her last class she had every day, there was no way that it would have been busy enough for someone to be forced to sit in what she had already claimed as her seat.  
She needed a hot chocolate, something to eat, and to call her stepmother, in that order. And it would only feel right if she did it in that seat; where she could look out over the quad and at the old buildings which her campus boasted, and to be able to look around the coffee shop at the people dashing in to quickly grab coffee or tea before walking back to their dorm, but out of the way of the cold air from the opening door as she did so.  
"Thanks Granny." She smiled kindly at the older woman and picked up the mug and saucer with her free hand, she would have to remember to get one of the muffins once she had convinced whoever was in _her_ seat to move.

Was wasn't sure why but she hadn't been expecting a guy, especially not a guy who looked quite as handsome as he did, not in the same arrogant way some of the guys her roommate had hooked up with did. This guy seemed to have effortless good looks as he sat half glaring at a textbook in a rumpled plaid shirt, he either was unaware of his own looks or unbothered by them.

She mentally shook herself and walked over to the table, she plastered on an almost sickly sweet smile onto her face, he looked up as she gave a polite cough and she willed herself not to be distracted by his sea blue eyes. "Excuse me?"

David had been trying to read his new text book, he had already missed the first couple of weeks of college and had frantically been trying to catch up, his roommate had assured him they'd make up for the social event David had missed and David had had to try not to roll his eyes. He had known Thomas for years, and his friend was well aware that David didn't really care about missing the parties, this was more important. He flicked the screen of his phone on to find no texts, which was good news he reminded himself, but he couldn't escape the worry which threatened to take over; that something would go wrong again.

He heard a small cough and was worried for a minute he had gotten the closing times of the coffee shop wrong and he was about to be kicked out, but when he looked up he saw a girl, no woman. She had dark black hair cut in a pixie cut, her clothes were all perfectly pressed and smart, a stark contrast to his own which he just about stopped himself from smoothing down. He clearly his throat a little nervously, he hadn't spoken to anyone since he had ordered his coffee from the kind barista, he didn't want his voice to break while he was talking to such a beautiful woman.

"Can I help you?" he asked as casually as he possibly could. He found himself staring into her green eyes, trying to take every detail of them in, and trying to stop his heart from trying to beat out of his chest. He ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"I didn't mean to interrupt but it's pretty quiet here… we seem to be some of the only people around."

His eyes drifted to the odd couples and groups splattered around the place and saw she was right, but his mind was working overtime as it untangled what he thought she was asking. He felt his heart quicken and knew that he would have an even harder time keeping it in his chest the more she smiled at him like that. "We are." His tongue darted across his bottom lip.

Mary bit her lip. "…Could I convince you to switch tables?"

"I- I… what?" David frowned a little and titled his head, this was not where he had imagined the conversation going.

"It's just, that's my table, I always sit there." She quickly added.

He raised an eyebrow "I didn't see your name on it."

"There's plenty of other tables in this place, and at most other times you'd be welcome to this one. But every morning and evening, this one, this is mine."

"Oh is that right, _princess_?" he smirked at her little look of annoyance at that title. "And what makes it so important? Or is it just because I've been sat here?" He tried to sound as full of himself as possible, that way at least he would get to see a stuck up girl's cute look of annoyance.

She rolled her eyes. "Regular Prince Charming, aren't you?" Maybe she was wrong about him not being arrogant. "It's the best seat in the place." She added wanting to stick to the subject without his flirting or whatever it was she was doing.

His blue eyes continued to sparkle with amusement. "Then why would I give it up?"

She outwardly sighed this time. "Maybe you'll find _your_ _own place_ at one of the other seats."

"I rather like the view from here, thanks." He tried not to sigh, apparently she was just another spoiled rich girl wanting her own way… but there was something in that smile even as she was trying to get her own way which made him not want this exchange to end.

"Fine." She could see his shock, which only increased when she placed her mug onto the spare half of the table, she set her books down then sat in the spare seat. "I'll just stay here until you move." She smiled sweetly at him.

David quickly recovered from his shock and an easy smile appeared on his face. "Stay as long as you like, _princess_." He put his head down to read his textbook but found himself watching her as she settled down into her place. The amount of books she had kind of worried him, was he that far behind in his own subjects? He drank a sip of his own coffee as she scooped some of the cream off of her hot chocolate into her mouth, there was a powder on top of it which he presumed went along with the smell of ginger which had suddenly appeared at the table when she had joined him. He tried to focus on his own book again but found himself catching more and more glimpses at her.

As she drank the hot chocolate Mary felt herself starting to relax a little again, she was sure there was a little bit of magic in the mugs Granny made, she opened up the book on the top of her pile. Child development. She had had the class earlier on and was already ahead on her reading, she was determined to do well in the class, to prove that it was important to her and she was taking it seriously. But her eyes kept flicking to the man across the table. There was something so desirable in his short hair which had been mussed up as he kept running his hand through it, his plaid shirt and the t-shirt beneath it looked as if they had been made for him, such a simple thing be he wore it so well – there were so many creases in his clothes that she could imagine her stepmother's face, turning her nose up at him in distaste, a thought which also made Mary smile. And there was the smirk which had appeared on his face, full of genuine amusement, he wore that pretty well too… As she took another sip of her drink she saw his look of concentration as he studied his book, something about crime, maybe he wasn't such an asshole if he was wanting to go into law enforcement… Maybe he had judged him wrong. She happened to glance down at a sheet of paper, she presumed was his schedule. 'David George Nolan', with the George bit half crossed out, the only Nolans she knew of owned a huge business, there was no way such a rich guy would be wearing those clothes and be looking at a book on criminal justice. But the Coe of the company was called George, it was too big of a coincidence for Mary to ignore.

David noticed a book which was identical to the one he had back in his dorm room, she must have been taking English too, he wondered for a second if she was majoring in it but she seemed more interested in her book on child development so it was probable it was just a minor, just like him... maybe she would be in his class.. maybe they could actually talk without her looking like she wanted to kill him…He shook himself, she had the book today so clearly she had the class today, and he doubted she wanted to talk to him of all people, especially not with his rumpled clothes and messy hair, she probably only talked to the other spoiled rich kids at the place, who were used to getting their own way. Technically he also had money, enough in a trust fund set up by his father to never have to work a day in his life if he didn't want to, but that just wasn't him.

David's phone buzzed on the table beside him, his heart skipped a beat but when he looked down at the phone it was just a message from his uncle, he swiped it closed without looking at it. He picked up his mug to drink more of his coffee but as he tipped it into his mouth he realised he had already finished it, he could almost feel the tips of his ears turning red with embarrassment. He spared a look across the table and saw a smirk on her face as she pretended not to be looking at him. Damn. His phone buzzed again and George's name flashed across his phone again, he could feel the woman's eyes on him as he swiped his uncles name from his phone yet again, he was sure that he would be had a go at next time he was forced to meet up with him but he didn't care.

The table of two tried to focus on their individual books but were both lost in their own heads, too distracted to realise that they had fallen into a comfortable silence, Mary didn't even completely want to push him away from the table. She kind of wanted to talk to him.

She could hear her stomach make a loud protest, demanding to be fed, but she would not let herself feel embarrassed, not in front of this table thief. Her cheeks seemed to have a different opinion, however as they tinged pink, she was comfortable where she was and she hadn't completely ruled out this 'David' trying to reclaim the table if she moved. The table buzzed again, it took her a few seconds to see that it was her phone making the table shake, not his.  
_***Regina***_ \- Her phone announced. She sighed and slowly picked it up, she wasn't nearly ready enough to talk to her stepmother, but it was easier to talk now than to put it off.  
"Hello Regina." She spoke quietly to try and not disturb David who pretended not to notice her picking up her phone at all. Regina immediately jumped into conversation which didn't surprise Mary in the slightest. But soon the conversation veered onto more uncomfortable topics, such as Mary's career aspirations. She rolled her eyes and stood up, walking over to a quiet corner, she thought it would be a bit unfair to disrupt David's learning too.

David had noticed the look on her face as she answered her phone, it could easily have been a roommate or a friend, maybe a sibling or someone. But David had a feeling that it was a parent, or someone like a parent. He knew the look on her face and the tone in her voice, it was oh so familiar to the one he had whenever his uncle George rang him. David glanced down at his empty coffee cup, now would probably be a good time to move onto another drink, he glanced across at the girl, whose name he still didn't know,'s place, she had also finished her drink. He had heard her stomach grumble quietly earlier, and her ignoring it, he wasn't sure if her stubbornness to not leave the table was cute, endearing, or would make him want to rip his hair out by the time the night was out.  
He got up and walked to the counter where Granny met him again. "Can I get a hot chocolate and another one of whatever that girl was drinking?" He smiled politely. "And I don't suppose you know her name, do you?" He asked wondering if she had ever had takeout coffee.

"I do." Granny replied smirking as she started the two hot chocolates.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" David chuckled knowing the answer before she even shook her head. "In that case, I'll take a caramel muffin and a double chocolate one."

When Mary returned to the table there was a new mug of hot chocolate and a caramel muffin in her place. She glanced over at Granny with a confused expression, the older woman shook her head and nodded towards David who was clearly trying to avoid Mary's eyes.  
"I- you-…?" She tried not to sigh, someone had just done something so kind and selfless which she hadn't expected him to do, yet she couldn't even talk or say thank you.

"Families, huh?" He cursed himself for sounding so lame. And for intruding on her personal life,

"Who said I was talking to family?" She raised a challenging eyebrow but it was without fire, more curious than anything else. She sat down across from him.

"I know a little something about disappointing family members too," David shrugged half-heartedly, "I know _the phone call look_."

Mary shared a smile with him and took a bite of the muffin. "Thanks for the muffin… _Prince Charming."_ She could see him roll his eyes playfully at her getting back at him calling her 'Princess'.

The two resumed their comfortable silence as they read their books, ate their muffins, and drank their drinks. Both stayed longer than they had originally intended.


	2. A coffee by any other name

David was almost regretting picking a morning literature class as he dragged himself out of bed. Across the room Thomas still slept, David hadn't heard him come into the room the night before so he assumed he must have gotten in quite late, though there was no stale smell of alcohol nor did he look like he might be regretting his actions when he woke up, so David didn't think he had gone partying. He would ask him later on, when both boys could string together words in a coherent way, what he had been up to. David grabbed a bottle of juice from his mini fridge and threw it into his backpack along with his book he would need for the class and his laptop. He quickly got changed in his usual outfit of jeans, a t-shirt, along with a blue plaid shirt. He grabbed his leather jacket and threw it on before leaving the dorm room bracing himself for the cold morning air which was ahead.

He stopped by the coffee shop he had been in the day before for a coffee, he knew he was running extremely early but he wanted to make sure that he didn't walk in late, that would only draw attention to him and make everyone realise he hadn't been in the class before – plus he needed something to wake him up and preferably keep him awake.

Granny was behind the counter as he walked into the place, it was pretty dead and for a moment David worried why it wasn't busy like most other places would be at that time in the morning, then he remembered where he was. No one voluntarily takes early morning classes in college, unless they were a morning person, or they were an idiot like him. "One medium mocha and an expresso please." He said with a smile after they had exchanged pleasantries. As she busied herself making the two coffees David looked around the coffee shop. His eyes fell on the table he had been sat the night before and couldn't help but wish it was occupied, he was sure she said she went there in the mornings and evenings. He shook himself, she was clearly a spoilt rich girl, a _princess_ used to getting her own way, but there was something about her which just kept her on his mind. Something which made him want to see her again. Her cute short hair, the sass and clear intelligence, the way she smiled, and those green eyes which seemed to hypnotise him…

"She's not here."

David jumped when he heard Granny's voice, he turned his head back to face her she was biting her lip to stop her from laughing at having managed to make him jump. "…Oh, I'm not… I wasn't looking for her- for anyone!" He quickly corrected though he knew there was no way even a toddler would buy that one.

"Mmhm." She nodded back with a knowing smile. "She normally comes in later on and in the evenings."

David nodded slowly and tried to make his face look as though she had told him it was meant to rain in a different country, like it didn't affect him. He failed.

* * *

After he drank his expresso, sitting at the table in the hopes that it would conjure a short dark haired woman to his table and make her start shouting at him, he walked across the campus to the classroom. The coffee shop was perfectly situated half way between his dorm and the buildings his classes took place, which was how he found it the day before, that was one of the plus points of the place, the other pro seemed to be the raven haired woman who frequented it. He pushed open the door to the empty class room and took a seat on the second row at the front right next to the wall. He slowly drank his mocha, savouring every bit of the hot coffee to which he had already added more sugar to, he wondered briefly what his mother would say if she knew he had drunk so much coffee already – she probably had a saying or life lesson about too much coffee.

He heard the door of the room open and placed his coffee cup down, he leant down to reach under the desk and grab his laptop and book from his bag, to make himself look at least a little busy to whoever had just walked in.

Mary came to a stop as she saw the sandy haired man sat in the seat next to her usual one, or at least she hoped… no, she corrected herself, _thought_ it was, she supposed it could be any blonde haired male who was at the college and wore plaid shirts, but she knew she was right the first time. He looked up at her and saw the recognition in his blue eyes. She tried to stop herself from smiling, instead she smirked, he looked even more surprised than he felt.

" _You_ take _this_ class?" His eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of his head.

She raised a single eyebrow. "You're really sticking to that Prince Charming act aren't you?"

"I didn't mean it like that." He quickly told her, clearly worried that he had insulted her. "It's just that you had your book for this class with you in Starbucks yesterday, I just assumed you had the class then, not that I'm not pleasantly surprised." He grinned at her with his eyes twinkling almost mischievously but his words were honest.

"I like to be ahead." She smiled and shrugged a little self-consciously. "I want to do well in this class, in college." She hadn't said it out loud before, but she hadn't thought it needed to be said, the same way her having black hair didn't need to be said, it just was, it was a fact.

David considered that for a moment and wasn't at all surprised. "Smart move. You strike me as the type of person who has pretty much everything under control, I'm sure you'll pass this class with flying colours."

Mary forced herself not to blush, but there was something about him which made that rather hard. She sat down in the seat beside his. "I always sit here." She felt the need to tell him as she pulled her own laptop and book out.

David smiled to himself as he saw all of the sticky page markers sticking out the side of her book, they seemed to be in some kind of colour order but David couldn't figure it out. "I'm glad to see I haven't taken your place this time." He smiled at her, every fibre of his being wanted to talk to her, to _know_ her in any and every way… but it wasn't just up to him.

She smiled at him, she bit the corner of her lip to make sure it didn't turn into a full on beam, there was a playful glint in her eyes. "No, but you did take my bag's place, so as you would expect it is very upset with you." She kept looking at him, not wanting the conversation to end, no matter what her sensible side was telling her.

David laughed. "I'll make it up to it." He winked at her and Mary thought it was lucky she was already sitting as she felt her knees go weak.

"Good, 'because you know it's really upset about it." She told him, why was she still talking? And brilliant, now she apparently had a sentient bag, not crazy at all…. But for whatever reason he laughed… and not in a 'please don't stalk me and kill me in my sleep' kind of way.

The longer he looked at her the bigger David's smile got. She still a neatly ironed red dotted shirt beneath a tan suede blazer, a scarf was around her neck though it was an accessories kind not a winter kind, and she had a woollen beret atop her head. He didn't know much about fashion, but _god_ , did she wear that outfit well. She probably looked just as good, if not better, without the outfit… He almost missed her question as he came back to his senses, other students started to file in, he wished he could stretch this moment out, just talking to her.

"Did you switch classes?"

It took him a second to realise what she was on about. "Oh no, I missed out on a few weeks of college, I was meant to be here day one."

Mary opened her mouth to say something else, but on her other side her friend Ella suddenly dropped into her usual seat, practically buzzing with excitement at wanting to tell her about her previous night of fun. Mary glanced from her friend to David, and was surprised that she felt disappointed that he had politely focused himself on his laptop to give Mary and Ella some privacy.

* * *

Mary spent the two hour seminar trying not to laugh at the notes she watched David write on his laptop. They were rather different to the detailed notes she wrote on hers, though she had to admit his were much more entertaining. The best of which was 'zoned out for 5 minutes idk what I missed – make something up'. He obviously noticed her reading them, though she supposed it was obvious considering she kept trying to stifle her laughter, so he started to mutter some of his literary analysis under his breath. She joined in. The blue in his shirt brought out the blue in his eyes, she noted while trying not to notice anything at all about him, his eyes reminded her of the ocean – a never ending cycle of blues sometimes looking almost grey while at other times they looked as light as a Caribbean sea. Mary was too old to believe in magic, at least in the same form as a child might believe in it, but those eyes came pretty close…

* * *

Once the class had finished Ella raced off to her next class, only pausing long enough to hug Mary behind, soon it was just Mary and David left in the room. They packed up their stuff at the same pace, and walked side by side out of the classroom, then out of the building.

"I have the notes from the classes you missed," Mary broke the silence, "if you want them."

David's smile came easily. "That would be awesome, thanks." The two continued to walk side by side as David searched for something to say to her.

"So, _Charming_ -"

"-Charming?" David interrupted her with a raised eyebrow and a hint of amusement in his eyes which invaded him whenever he she said that name. "I thought it was _Prince_ Charming?"

"Bit of a mouthful." She admitted. "…Unless you're insisting on the royal title."

The look on her face clearly read 'don't even think about it' and David laughed. "I'm good with Charming." Her smile let him know that was the right answer. "Although, I _do_ have a _name_ , you know." He added with a smirk.

"This one suits you better." Her mouth matched his.

"I'm glad you think I'm so charming." She had walked right into that one.

Mary rolled her eyes. "In your dreams."

"Oh, every night." He only kept his face straight enough to see her scowl at him before he broke the façade and burst into laughter. "Sorry," he said when he had regain his composure, "I couldn't resist."

She couldn't stop herself from laughing a little as a smile attached itself to her face. They walked for a little while in silence which was surprisingly not awkward at all. "Are you free now?" Mary asked him as they walked and she suddenly became aware that they were walking without any real destination. "I mean, like, do you have a class?"

David grinned down at her though her eyes were straightforward and couldn't see him. "No, I'm free…Why?"

"I…I just… the hot chocolate." She spluttered out a little embarrassed.  
She tried to remind herself that he was probably just a spoilt rich kid, but that was a lot harder to do when he was so kind, and he wasn't too horrible to look at she guessed. No. She wasn't at college to date people or whatever, she was there to pass her classes at the highest level she could, she had something to prove. But he had bought her a hot chocolate the day before, and a muffin, so she was just paying off a debt.  
"I owe you a drink, you bought me one yesterday, so I owe you."

David smiled at her though he felt his heart drop, though he wasn't quite sure why, this was more like a business transaction than anything else. He should be used to it, he was a Nolan after all, business was what they were best at. Though it seemed weird that this girl would feel the need to pay him back, it seemed to contrast with how he felt she _should_ be, but then half of her personality seemed to be in contrast with that too.  
"It was just a drink and a muffin, you don't have to owe me anything," he assured her gently, "if you'd rather be doing something else I wouldn't hold it against you."

Mary tilted her head to the side, a Nolan turning down compensation for something? And one who was going to work in law enforcement? Plus she couldn't exactly imagine George Nolan CEO millionaire sitting through a literature class, or making people, _her_ , laugh… or even him really smiling. Mary was beginning to doubt that he was even related to those Nolans at all.

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't have anything I need to do." She noticed the smile on his face as they headed towards the Starbucks, she ducked her head so he wouldn't be able to see her smile.

"My name's D-"

Mary interrupted. "I already told you, Charming suits you better." If she didn't hear his name direct from his lips she could think that the name on the class schedule she saw the day before was a coincidence, she wouldn't be tempted to google it to see if it was as she expected, she could ignore his almost aristocratic standing and that within a couple of weeks he would be just another frat boy trying to get with any girl at any party. He could just be _her_ Charming.

David laughed loudly, his head thrown back, though it was not an obnoxious gesture. They entered the coffee shop, both smiling in earnest. "If I'm not allowed to tell you my name, can you at least tell me yours?"

"I can." She walked backwards towards the counter so she could grin at him. "I won't though."

David shook his head though he couldn't stop himself from grinning and rolling his eyes a little. "Gertrude? Myrtle? Enid?"

Mary rolled her eyes back. "A combination of the three actually." She joked.  
She noticed that Ruby was working at the counter and leant forward to whisper into her ear, asking her to come up with a fake name to put on her cup, and 'Charming' on David's cup. Her best friend didn't question it, but did eye David appraisingly as he chose what he wanted and grabbed two muffins.

"Those two muffins as well, Rubes."

"Actually I'm getting these." David interrupted, his coffee companion opened her mouth to challenge him. "It's the least I can do considering you're lending me your notes."

Mary tipped her head in agreement. "You're right, mine are actual notes on the lesson though," she mocked a warning, "I haven't noted down how long I was daydreaming for."

"Your loss." David laughed and accepted the coffee he was given, with the name 'Charming' on it, he was growing to like it. He looked at her cup and saw 'Snow' on it, and looked up to see her roll her eyes at the barista, clearly it was an inside joke. He found himself uncharacteristically wanting to know more about it, he wanted to know everything about her, but he didn't even know her name.

"Shall we, _Charming_." She raised her eyebrow at him challengingly as though expecting him to object to the nickname.

"After you, _Snow_." He held his hand which held his coffee cup out to let her lead the way, as he carried their muffins in the other hand.

They both settled down at the table they had sat at the previous night, in the same chairs, though this time no wall of books separated them.

"This is still my table though," she informed him, "you're just a onetime guest."

"But this is the second time I've sat at it, plus," he pretended to look on the table and the chair he was sat on across from her, "it still doesn't have your name on it." David chuckled as she shot him a glare. "Anyway, I like the view." He stared right at her as she looked outside at the old buildings which surrounded them, she smiled at the buildings as though she was the only one who notice them, and perhaps she was.

"It is a pretty good view." She said, though she was downplaying it.

Her eyes never left the window and his eyes never left her face.

"Spectacular." David breathed out, though he was downplaying it.

* * *

"So, who was that you were with, in the coffee shop?" Ruby demanded as soon as she had entered the dorm room, she had to repeat the question again when she realised that Mary had her earphones in while typing away on her laptop and couldn't hear her.

"Oh that was just this guy from my lit class, I owed him a coffee." She saw Ruby's look and rolled her eyes trying to show that that was all it was.

"'Charming'." Ruby raised an eyebrow as she said the name as though it was a question.

"It's a joke."

Ruby smiled at the defensive tone. Mary had never felt the need to defend herself like that, and Ruby had never seen her look at _anyone_ else in that way, and she had been friends with her since they met in kindergarten. "He seems nice."

Mary bit her lip to stop herself from smiling, but her intent was clear, she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, I need to borrow a costume for that party Ella's dragging us to."

Ruby sent her a wicked smile. "Cheer up, you might enjoy it." Mary sent her a look which clearly said she doubted it, parties weren't really her thing, but they had both promised Ella. She thought for a second. "I have just the costume for you."

* * *

"I met someone."

"Oh yeah?" David shook his head a little with one eyebrow raised, this was not the first time Thomas had met a girl and decided David needed to hear all the details.

"Not like _that_. We just talked, for hours, but I feel like I've known her my whole life."

David turned to fully look at Thomas. This was new. "What's her name?" His voice was soft and his smile was kind.

"That's the thing... I don't actually know it."

David would normally have rolled his eyes a little at that, but all of a sudden it didn't seem like such a bizarre or foreign concept to him, he had found himself in the same position. Though he doubted she saw him in the same light.

"But I'm meeting her again at a party, end of the week," Thomas added, "before you say anything I already know you don't have classes in the middle of a Saturday night. Come on man, I need you there, please." Though Thomas hadn't really needed to ask. The two had been friends since David's family had moved to Boston, through thick and thin, even staying best friends when David moved back to the town he had been born in a couple of months previously.

David nodded though parties had never really been his thing, they were much more James' scene, much to his uncle's disdain and confusion. "I guess one night away from studying won't hurt."

Thomas grinned at him as he switched the television on. "Oh, and it's a costume party, I already got you something to wear"

"Great." David said in a deadpan voice.


End file.
